Southbridge group petitions to have town run less like a city

Wednesday

Mar 5, 2014 at 6:12 PM

By Brian Lee TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

SOUTHBRIDGE — A frustrated citizens group said residents have a weak voice in Town Hall because the town has operated like a city for 40 years, and this has also led to overspending, with little to show for it.

The approximately 10-member group called We The People said it wants to revert the home-rule charter to a town meeting-administrator form of government, with five selectmen.

The group will be in front of supermarkets and the post office Saturday collecting signatures on its petition, spokesman James J. Marino said.

Southbridge changed from an open town meeting to a manager-council form of government in 1974.

The nonpartisan group also proposes an elected town moderator, who would appoint a 15-member finance committee.

Mr. Marino called the finance committee important because it would serve as a financial watchdog and provide guidance at town meeting.

"We have a town manager and nine councilors who run the whole show with almost no debate," said Mr. Marino, a local barber and former councilman.

He complained about no-bid contracts, and alleged that increasing the Board of Health's composition from three to five members had the motive of advancing a controversial landfill plan.

Mr. Marino also asserted that real estate taxes, at $19.14 per $1,000 of a property's value, and water and sewer rates are "outrageous."

The group, which says it will eventually go door-knocking, needs at least 569 certified signatures to get its proposal on a town election ballot.

That is 5 percent of the number of registered voters in the last regular town election, Town Clerk Madaline I. Daoust said.

The deadline for the group to submit signatures to her office is May 6. That would allow time to certify the signatures and forward the petition to town councilors, who would have 10 days to act, the clerk said.

The proposal could then be included on the June 24 election ballot.

An appointed town administrator would be required to be a registered town voter within six months of hire. The current town manager post does not carry a residency requirement.

Under the proposal, selectmen would be limited to two three-year terms.

The petition also seeks to eliminate the Engineering Department, with those services farmed out to private firms or individuals.

"For a long time we had two engineers there, and we did not have any engineering work done," Mr. Marino said.

The proposal would also clarify that only selectmen could appoint the town lawyer.

"There was always a question of who appointed the attorney — the manager or council," Mr. Marino said.

In essence, the group is calling for smaller government, Mr. Marino said.

But many view town meetings as "antiquated," with voters having to be dragged to the meetings, except for a vote about a special cause.

Councilor Denise Clemence said there are pros and cons to both forms of government.

"In some ways, a town meeting form is nice because people seem to feel a little more involved and effective," she said. "But in other ways, you can be just as effective with the form of government we have — if you get involved."

But Ms. Clemence said she had heard complaints in local communities about "stacking" a town meeting, when an item can be passed with minimal voters.

"You're not going to tell me 300 or 400 people represent 20,000 at a town meeting," she said.

But the councilor conceded it is similar to a councilor being elected with 1,000 or 1,500 votes.

"Sometimes (councilors) make the statement, 'I have to do what the voters who elected me wanted.' Well, that could be 1,000 voters, that could be 1,500 voters, it could be 2,000 voters. It's still not the whole community.

"Ultimately, we — whether we're selectpeople or council people — have to make a decision on what's best for the entire community," Ms. Clemence continued. "Sometimes that offends the people that elected you. Sometimes they're in agreement with you."

Mr. Marino recalled that special legislation clarified that Southbridge was a town, despite its city-style governance.

"So now we live under two sets of rules, actually," he said. "That's why a lot of people are upset on big issues such as the landfill, access road and school. They use the city form of government to keep it away from the ballot box — so citizens don't have a chance to vote on it."

Mr. Marino said the timing of the proposal is ideal because it can't be argued that the group wants to oust a particular manager.

Acting Town Manager Robert Reed is working three days a week while a search committee works to find a full-time manager to succeed Christopher Clark, who resigned in December to take the town administrator's post in Harwich.

In April, a councilor said the town should consider closing the struggling municipal airport and using the acreage for something else.

Soon after, an official from Casella Waste Systems told councilors that using the airport land to enlarge the landfill would add years to the landfill's life span.

Mr. Marino said residents should have a stronger voice on those matters.